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Final Fantasy VII: Angelic Threnody	By : DarkSeraphim1 Category: Final Fantasy VII > Yaoi - Male/Male Views: 1315 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core, Before Crisis, or Dirge of Cerberus. I do not profit from the writing and/or posting of this fic. I am just a humble fan paying tribute to another's wonderful creations.

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Chapter Six
       ’My friend, the fates are cruel. There are no dreams, no honor remains. The arrow has left the bow of the goddess.’ -Loveless, ACT IV
            Light.
            The world was awash with light. Sephiroth frowned uneasily as he looked around, surveying his surroundings with a wary eye. There was nothing here but a too-bright radiance that almost seemed to mock him, as it did nothing more than irritate his mako-enhanced eyes. He turned around slowly, expecting to see the Ancient standing before him, as he had once before, but there was nothing. Only an endless expanse of white that only served to remind him of the darkness which had held him prisoner for eight hellish years.
       ’It is time. . .’
            The voice startled him. It seemed to come from everywhere at once, filling the endless white with eternal purity. It was a woman’s voice, yet so much more. Angelic, pure, free from the curse of emotion that had long been his own bane, it surrounded him, engulfed him, and Sephiroth knew a rare, unfamiliar sense of apprehension.
       ‘ . . .time to see what you have wrought. . .’
            The air began to stir around him, a curiously gentle breeze which lifted his silver hair lovingly, yet filled him with a dark sense of foreboding. His surrounding began to shift, to change, darkness swirling in to blend with the light, flecked with beautiful slivers of glowing green that could only be the souls that made up the Lifestream.
       ‘. . .time for you to discover what your petty. . .’
            Out of that darkness came a being of light. Beautiful, awe-inspiring, yet terrible at the same time, she floated towards the ground, a vision of white and gold. She wore the armor an ancient warrior, two golden pauldons stretching out from either shoulder, a flowing white cloak streaming from each. He spied three small white wings, swaying in the breeze she had created, and he was forcibly reminded of Angeal as he had looked near the end.
       ‘. . .desires have cost those foolish enough to care for you. . .’
            But the comparison ended there. In one hand, she held a staff, twice the length of Masamune, topped with two golden prongs that resembled a crown. In her other, a large shield rested, pure alabaster adorned with gold, easily seven feet in circumference. The surface seemed to shimmer, almost as though it were alive, and Sephiroth found himself taking a quick step back in a gesture of instinctive self-preservation.
       ‘. . .time to pay for the destruction you have wrought upon me. . .”
            Angelic features--surprisingly reminiscent of his own--were surrounded by a sheath of golden hair, which was held in place by an ornate crown, again made of gold, with a crest of sapphire blue. That stunningly beautiful face showed a serenity he himself had only ever felt while in Genesis’ embrace, and a part of him envied her that tranquility. As though sensing his thoughts, her deep, pure blue eyes focused on him. Her full lips tightened slightly as she gazed upon him, and he got the distinct impression that she somehow found him lacking.
       ‘. . .Calamity’s Child.’
            “Who are you?” he asked, his deep voice reflecting none of his anger at the wretched title this godlike being had bestowed upon him.
       ‘I am all,’ that voice answered, her whisper booming through the Lifestream, though her lips moved not at all. ‘I am the dew that quenches the land. I am the sands, the sea, the sky. I am everything and nothing, the source of all life, and that which cradles those who return to it. I AM.”
            Sephiroth stiffened, his chin coming up as he realized just who--or rather what--he faced. “Gaia,” he said simply.
            A cruel, rather un-godlike smile graced her lips at that. ‘If that is what you choose to call me, Harbinger.’
            “I am no longer tied to Jenova,” he explained as calmly as he could. “I severed those ties when I made the sacrifice to save another.”
       ‘Did you?’ The mocking question hung in the air between them, the illusion of serenity gone as though it had never been. ‘Would you like to see what your sacrifice has wrought?’
            The large shield began to shine, a plethora of images moving across its gilded surface. It finally locked on the last, an image of the orchard in Banora, where he and Genesis had finally been reunited. Where he had died, Sephiroth thought painfully. He watched with haunted eyes as Genesis ran him through, those beloved tear-stained features wearing a dark rage he didn’t remember seeing. As he himself quoted Loveless and absolved Genesis of any guilt, the other man flung his arms wide and roared with grief.
            Black feathers filled the darkening sky, nearly obscuring the slim figure who continued to scream wordlessly. Even as his own grief rose up to choke him, Sephiroth was shocked to see his body begin to disperse. Slowly, as the call of the Lifestream beckoned him, a green glow that was the Lifestream began to appear around his body, showing that he had indeed been accepted. But the sky had darkened ominously around Genesis, an unnatural storm that only worsened as he dropped to his knees and attempted to gather his dead lover’s body into his arms. Sephiroth could only watch, helpless, as Genesis begged him not to die, not to leave him so completely alone.
            “Genesis,” he whispered, unknowingly stepping towards the heart-wrenching image of his lover as he finally broke.
       ‘See all that you have wrought, wretched one.’
            He watched as Genesis screamed his name and began to curse the goddess he had served so faithfully. Genesis’ ultimate spell, the one he called upon only when near death, rained down upon The Planet. Apocalypse showered Gaia with fire and destruction on a level he would never have believed possible. Banora was wiped out in seconds, the orchards, the overgrown ruins, the underground cavern that had once held his goddess’ shrine. . .all of it simply gone. Only he and Genesis remained, his body held together by nothing more than Genesis’ will, set against a scorched and blackened landscape. As Genesis continued to scream and rage against his fate, Sephiroth was forced to watch as the rest of Gaia quickly followed, swallowed by the blazing fires of his lover’s unending grief.
       ‘SEE WHAT YOU HAVE COST THE FAITHFUL!’
            At the top of the ruined Shinra Headquarters, where Jenova and his remnants had been so thoroughly defeated, sat Cloud Strife, a double-bladed katana clutched in his hands, his fair head bowed as though in prayer. That head came up as Apocalypse approached, red-rimmed, mako-blue eyes widening with disbelief. As the end swept towards him in a reddish haze of heat and brimstone, a look of profound relief crossed his too-young features. A tiny, miniscule smile appeared on his lips just seconds before he too was engulfed in the blazing inferno.
            Sephiroth watched as The Planet was destroyed, not by Jenova or Meteor, but by the man he loved. Junon, Wutai, Edge, Kalm, Mideel, even the Forgotten City was not spared. Apocalypse swept towards the sacred Cetra dwellings with no regard for their sanctity, consuming the Sleeping Forest and its ghostly inhabitants in a matter of seconds. As the destructive magic wound its way through the Forgotten Capitol, Sephiroth spied a speck of crimson at the top of the altar’s dome. His breath caught in his throat as Vincent Valentine rose to his full height, his slender, hauntingly familiar frame moving fluidly as he faced the oncoming conflagration.
            “Genesis, no,” he muttered under his breath, unaware that he had spoken aloud, “not him.”
            Sephiroth clenched his teeth as he watched the father he had never known face death with a resigned acceptance that both stunned and saddened him. That bizarre scarlet cloak whipped around him in a frenzy, almost as though it was expressing the emotions that its owner could not, curling in an almost protective manner around his father‘s black-clad form. Vivid crimson eyes narrowed slightly, the only change Sephiroth could detect in Vincent’s impassive expression, as narrow lips mouthed one indecipherable word. Then, he too was gone, swallowed by the firestorm of Genesis’ anguish.
       ‘Now, bear witness to my destruction, monster.’
            The Lifestream rose up to defend The Planet, as it had once before, but was only engulfed in the heat of Genesis’ rage. Billions of souls, some he knew, others he did not, were absorbed into Apocalypse as though they were nothing. Each soul screamed as it was swallowed, Angeal‘s and Zack’s being the most agonizing for him to witness.
            Disbelief filled him as the scene switched once more. In the blackened hell that had once been Banora, he watched his own dead body stir in Genesis’ arms. Cat-like green opened, their mako glow somehow undimmed by death, elliptical pupils mere slits of darkness amidst that eerie radiance. His lips moved as he whispered Genesis’ name, and Sephiroth heard himself offering comfort in a voice that was his yet not, and dread filled him as he realized what was happening.
            “No,” he whispered, his too-deep voice harsh with denial. “This cannot be.”
       ‘But it is,’ Gaia returned unsympathetically . ‘Now, witness my champion’s fall, and it’s cause.’
            It was Mother, Sephiroth thought dimly through his horror. Jenova had taken his dead body and once again used him for her own dark purposes. He could only watch helplessly as Jenova convinced Genesis to ride the darkness of the cosmos with her, offering him a place at her side as his consort, all the while wearing his form and speaking with his voice. He cringed as Genesis tearfully agreed, clutching the abomination close, saying the words Sephiroth had always longed to hear over and over, smiling a bit madly as he did so.
            I love you.
            Jenova smiled in triumph, her evil once again reflected in his features, and then they were gone. Nothing was left of The Planet but a broken, blackened husk. The shield’s surface rippled once again, became dull, opaque, reflecting nothing more than Sephiroth’s own grieved countenance. “
            Genesis,” he murmured, closing his eyes as he saw the truth that would damn him to the same loveless existence he had once fought so hard to escape.
            It was his fault, all of it. He was the cause of Genesis’ fall. Not Hollander, not the degradation, but him. He had turned Genesis’ into a monster, an abomination, with his suffocating brand of love. In his arrogance, he had crushed the spirit he had so admired. In his own pain, he had inflicted a devastating wound that had never truly healed. He had no one to blame for his lover’s madness but himself, and that knowledge hurt as nothing else could.
       ‘Have you seen?’ Gaia questioned coolly. ‘Do you finally understand why I reject you? Do you now know what is required of you?’
            “Yes,” Sephiroth replied, opening dull green eyes to her own. “I understand.”
            Those lush lips curved into a small, pleased smile as Gaia closed her own eyes, and he was dismissed with a rush of cold wind and bright light.
            Sephiroth awakened with a violent start, his heart hammering in his chest, his breath coming in harsh pants. He glanced around the room, his emerald eyes wild, his vision blurred. He felt the man beside him shift and stumbled hastily out of bed. He rushed out of the room, ignoring the sleep-roughened mewl that was his name, his chest tight with grief.
            He found himself standing at the wide bay window that comprised the east wall of the kitchen. He dropped to the cold tile floor, pulling his knees up and wrapping his arms around them, as if by doing so he could hold himself together. He had been shown some hard truths this night, and they had shattered what little was left of his world.
            The knowledge that he was responsible for Genesis’ fall from grace had damaged him, perhaps beyond repair. He had taken Genesis away from his destined path by simply loving him, and he had never once suspected it. Gaia had needed a champion, and she had spent eight years preparing Genesis for that role, not realizing that he had already been ruined by the unholy offspring of her greatest enemy.
            Strife had been chosen first, and she had used him well, but he had proven himself ultimately unworthy. He hadn’t been strong enough, his love for Kadaj--a remnant of him--all the evidence Gaia needed of that. Her champion had to be physically strong and wholly devoted to her. Much like The Calamity she so despised, she was incapable of sharing her ’Chosen One’. He must be completely hers, or he would punished for the rest of his existence, as Genesis and Cloud had been.
            Perhaps, Gaia had mistaken Genesis’ dark, passionate feelings for him as hatred. Why else would she spare him after all he had done? What other reason could she have had for sending him to kill the one person not even Strife had been able to destroy completely?
            Although The Planet had presented a surprisingly human face to him, Gaia was not human. She was the heart of The Planet, comprised of the many spirits who had returned to her. She truly was the sands and seas and sky and the many creatures that inhabited her. And she had marked him as her enemy.
            He would have to give Genesis up. Sephiroth made a rough sound and buried his face in his knees, his entire body shaking with the force of his grief. How could he do so? he asked himself silently. How could he force himself to walk away from the only happiness he had ever known?
            Genesis would never forgive him. Sephiroth had no illusions about that. If he cut the other man out of his life, he would make an enemy of him. He would lose Angeal, as well. Their serious, stoic friend would never forgive him for hurting the more vulnerable of the three. And once Angeal was gone, Sephiroth would never have the chance to become Zack’s friend. He would lose everything if he did as Gaia demanded.
            And yet, if he didn’t, he would be dooming them all. How could he say that he loved them, call them his friends, if he could not do what was best for them?
            He knew now that it hadn’t been Gaia--Genesis’ goddess--who had given him this second chance. It had been the Ancient, the girl who had suffered so much at his hands, who had sent him back through the veil of time to make things right.
            And so he would, Sephiroth thought with renewed determination. Gaia could stew in her hatred of him all she wanted. He would find a way to save them all, and he would do it without abandoning those who cared for him.
            “Seph?”
            Sephiroth stiffened at the husky, melodic call, jerking his head towards the source. Genesis padded towards him on bare feet, a hastily donned robe flaring around his otherwise nude form. He watched through a veil of sweat-dampened silver hair as Genesis drew closer, wincing inwardly as he realized that he had been so wrapped up in his own musings that he hadn’t even heard Genesis leave the bed.
            He checked an instinctive urge to reach for the other man as he drew close. He had no rights when it came to the man he loved, none at all. This time around, things would be different. This time, Genesis would have the power he had always felt he lacked, and Sephiroth would happily watch from the sidelines as all of his dreams were fulfilled. It was only the beginning of what he owed his passionate friend, and the very least he could do for him.
            He had to forcibly remind himself of that as Genesis knelt beside him, his fine features showing a combination of worry and alarm. “Are you all right?”
            Sephiroth looked away, squeezing his eyes shut, as though blocking out the sight of the other man would lessen his need for him. “I’m fine,” he choked out, appalled to hear his voice waver precariously.
            “Sephiroth. . .” He could hear the frown in Genesis’ voice as a firm hand gripped his chin, leaving him no choice but to meet the other’s azure gaze. Those eyes widened dramatically as Genesis’ said, “You’re. . .crying?”
            He blinked with surprise, only then noting the uncomfortable dampness that clung to his lashes. He lifted a hand to his face, shocked to feel hot liquid on his burning skin. He drew his hand back and saw the clear moisture clinging to his fingertips. As astonishing as it was, it was clear that he was shedding tears, something he hadn’t done since he was a very young boy.
            In different circumstances, Genesis would have laughed at the look of stunned consternation on the other man’s face. As it was, his concern far outweighed any other emotion as he began to sooth the other man.
“Nightmare?” he questioned in a quiet voice, running one hand over the moonspun silk of his lover’s hair. Sephiroth had once been prone to them, and although they were no longer a nightly occurrence, they did still happen. It must have been a bad one though, to cause such an extreme reaction as tears.
            Sephiroth hesitated before nodding silently. After all, being shown just how great a monster he truly was certainly qualified as a nightmare!
            Genesis made a soft sound and sat beside him, stretching his legs out as he pulled him into his arms. Sephiroth didn’t have the strength of will to push him away, even as that part of his mind that Hojo had so successfully defiled screamed for him to do so. Instead, he settled into the comforting embrace, showing Genesis a trust he had never given anyone else, and likely never would. He let Genesis’ touch sooth away the worst of his fears, and calm his atypically riotous emotions. They would return, of course, but for now, he was content to simply be held.
            Genesis began to rock him, murmuring soothing nonsense, and Sephiroth wondered who had done this for him as a child. Angeal, he thought immediately, and instinctively knew it to be true. He had met Genesis’ parents once, and he highly doubted that the wealthy, distant couple was capable of something that would require as much compassion as this.
            Against his will, his body began to relax, his senses lulled by the caring he had been deprived of for most of his thirty-three years. Nothing like this had happened between them before, and he had to wonder what else had been changed by the change in himself. While he was not the same man Genesis thought he knew, neither he was the maddened son--god--Mother had tried so hard to make of him. He was someone new, someone different, and it was time for him to discover just who it was that he had become. He would also discover if Genesis could love him as he had once loved The Nightmare, Gaia and her demands be damned. He would do as his own conscience dictated, and he would save the man who had lost so much in loving him.
            He slipped his arms around Genesis slim waist, resting his head against the comforting sound of his heartbeat. “Genesis?”
            A soft cheek ghosted over the crown of his head. “Yes, moonbeam?”
            Sephiroth couldn’t help but smile at that, though it was tinged with sadness. “You know how I feel about you, don’t you?”
            Genesis went still for a long moment before replying, “Yes, I believe I do,” in a cautious voice.
            That was enough for Sephiroth. He let out a quiet breath and closed his eyes, saying nothing more. Genesis went back to rocking him, and together they greeted the dawn, huddled on the floor of his kitchen in silence, wrapped in each other’s arms.
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Final Fantasy VII: Angelic Threnody